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These bees don't need no stinkin' hive.

I got a call a few days ago to come pick up a swarm behind a hardware store. I thought it would be a 2 minute job, but this is what I found. They said the comb was completely covered in bees prior to the cold snap a few weeks ago. Of course, they didn't call me then:mad:. This area of town seems to produce a lot of swarms every year. I should ask about putting out bait hives.

Those pictures are great, I have never seen that before. I am thinking it probably is much more common in the south then the north, simply because the weather conditions are so harsh here, the bees really wouldn't have a chance come fall and into winter.

They must have set up shop earlier this year -- mid-March swarms are not uncommon. I'm guessing they would have bounced back from their losses during the cold snap (freezing temps for 2-3 nights). But they would not survive the next winter.

Oh?

Don't be so sure about that. I have seen them survive our harsh winters here. It's not common, but it can be done as long as they have good numbers and enough stores going into winter.

Two years ago I removed one that was attached to the NW side of a building. Our NW winds are our coldest and prevailing winds here. I removed 11 deep frames of brood the first week of April and it produced a good crop that year too.